Joel 1

¹ Na God message to Joel, son of Pethuel be this.

² Pay attention, una wey don old; all of una for Judah, make una listen, anything like this done happen for una time or the time of una forefather?

³ Make una tell una children about am; dem go tell their children, wey go tell their next generation.

⁴ Plenty locusts settle on top the crops; wetin one swarm of locust chop remain the next one go chop am finish.

⁵ Wake up and cry, you drunkards; cry, una wey like to dey drink wine; the grape wey dem dey use make wine don destroy.

⁶ Army of locust don attack our land; dem dey powerful and dem plenty pass wetin person fit count; their teeth sharp, just like lion own.

⁷ Dem don destroy our grapevines and chop our fig trees. Dem don chop off the cover, till the branches turn white.

⁸ Make una cry, like woman wey dey mourn the death of the man wey she wan marry.

⁹ Corn no dey, and wine no dey to offer for Temple; priests dey mourn because dem no get offering wey dem fit give God

¹⁰ The fields no dey fruitful; even the ground dey mourn because the corn don destroy, the grape don dry off, and the olive trees don dey die.

¹¹ Farmers, make una cry; una wey dey take care of vineyards, make una cry, yes, all crops don destroy.

¹² The vines don dry, and the fig trees don dey dry. All the trees for field – the pomegranate, the palm, and the apple – don dey die. And people no get joy again.

¹³ Make una priest wear sackcloth and cry loud. Make servant wey dey for alter cry loud. God servant, una go sleep for sackcloth, because grains and wine offering no go dey for God Temple again.

¹⁴ Tell people say time for special fasting go dey. Gather them together for special meeting. Bring their leaders and everyone wey dey live for the land together for Temple of the Lord una God, and pray to God.

¹⁵ Make una dey sad, because God special day don near. For that time punishment go come like attack from God Almighty.

¹⁶ Our food no dey again. Joy and happiness don comot for the Temple of our God.

¹⁷ We don plant seed, but the seeds don dry and die for inside soil. Our plant don dry and die. Our barns don empty and dem dey fall down.

¹⁸ Hunger dey wire the animals and dem dey cry. The herds of cattle dey go up and down and dem no know wetin to do, because grass no dey wey dem go eat. The sheep dey die. God, I dey call you for help. Fire don turn our green field to desert. Fire don burn all the trees wey dey for field.

²⁰ Wild animals need your help too. The stream don dry – water no dey. Fire don turn our green field to desert.